Dec 1 Daniel 7, Daniel 8:1-14 1 John 2:12-27 Psalm 136:13-26

1 John 2:15-17

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life-is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

I love how direct John is. There’s no reading between the lines with him – what he means, he says. If you love the world… the love of the father is not in you.

In other words, where does your allegiance lie? It can’t be in two places, only in one. If your love is towards the things of this world… that’s not a good long term investment. Because this world is not going to last. It’s passing away, one generation at a time. Anything man can build will be destroyed. But the kingdom of God abides forever.

Don’t sell eternity short for the temporary things of this world. Don’t love the world or your life so much that it distracts you from the Father. It’s not worth it. Maybe at the time it seems so… but it’s really not. Pride of life is not from the Father.

1 John 2:22-25

Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us-eternal life.

We touched in this a few days ago, but it bears repeating – because John re-enforces this rather strongly. You cannot call yourself a Christian and deny the divinity of Jesus. Any one who does so is a liar, because whatever’s it is they believe it’s not Christianity even if it call itself that or pretends to be a branch of it. They need a new word to describe themselves… John provides a good one here, how about “antichristianity”?

If you have the Son, you have the Father. If you don’t… you don’t. It’s really quite simple. We don’t follow “a good man” or a “wise teacher” but the one and only Son of God. That’s the dividing line between what is Christian and what is not. That means there is no joining together or agreement with a faith that denies this. If Jesus is believed to be just a prophet, then there is no common ground. A faith that denies the divinity of Jesus isn’t similar but is anti-Christ. 

You either have the Son or you don’t. Thank God we have the Son.